9 out of 10 Singaporeans fail to accomplish daily to-do list

So why do they keep a list  if they were to miss most of the items anyway?

LinkedIn, which bills itself as the world’s largest professional network, today released data about professionals and their daily to-do lists. The study examined how professionals in different industries tackle tasks planned for a given workday; the differences between men and women’s to-do list habits; and global insights on where professionals keep to-do lists and what gets in the way of completing them.

LinkedIn surveyed more than 6,500 professionals in more than 15 countries globally, and over 400 in Singapore. Of the 59 percent of Singaporeans who reported frequently keeping a to-do list, 47 percent of respondents noted that they write out their to-do lists by hand and 47 percent make their to-do lists on electronic devices. The remaining six percent reported storing their lists in alternative places, like “In my mind only,” “Piles of files,” or other locations like whiteboards or chalkboards. Globally, 50 percent of those who jot down to-do lists do so by hand, while 45 percent create them electronically.

When it comes to checking the boxes on their to-do lists, nine in ten Singaporean professionals say they regularly do not manage to accomplish all of the tasks they plan to do in a given workday. Survey respondents pointed to unplanned tasks (such as unscheduled phone calls, emails and meetings) as the primary cause for not completing all items on their to-do lists. Fifty-seven percent of Singaporean professionals reported that they split their workday equally between planned and unplanned tasks, while only 32 percent spend most of their day on planned tasks.

Globally, the study showed that the likelihood that a professional will complete their to-do list varied by industry. Professionals in the legal industry had the lowest completion rate on their daily plans, with 66 percent of respondents accomplishing most or all tasks. Conversely, professionals in the consumer and service industries were among the most productive, with 79 percent and 77 percent respectively stating that they regularly fulfill most or all of their planned tasks.

Art industry professionals (40 percent) agreed the most with this statement, "I tend to be distracted easily”, against a global average of 26 percent. Yet, when asked whether they feel like they do a good job of prioritizing their work, 63 percent of art industry professionals agreed, versus a global average of 91 percent of professionals.

· The study shows that 63 percent of all professionals frequently create to-do lists.

· Seventy-one percent of women say they frequently keep to-do lists.

· Only 60 percent of men say they frequently keep to-do lists.